


Luminous Precognition

by TheMajesticLauren



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Comforting Chocobros, Drugs, Gen, Hallucinations, How Does Magic Work, Hurt Noctis Lucis Caelum, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Precognition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-25 17:05:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17125316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMajesticLauren/pseuds/TheMajesticLauren
Summary: “Hey, you! You seem like you wanna hear what I have to say!”The four men were walking through Lestallum on one of their rare off-days when they passed a woman on the street selling herbal medicine. Her store seemed innocent enough; many people started to find niche ways to make money when Niflheim invaded more innocent countries. Some turned to tarot reading, some sewing or crocheting, and some got into the drug and medicine business.They didn’t have anything to hurry to, so the men decided to give the woman a chance.My secret santa gift for audreyskdramablog! Happy holidays!





	Luminous Precognition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [audreyskdramablog](https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyskdramablog/gifts).



> Hi! This is my Secret Santa gift for audreyskdramablog! I hope you enjoy and happy holidays! <3

“Hey, you! You seem like you wanna hear what I have to say!”

The four men were walking through Lestallum on one of their rare off-days when they passed a woman on the street selling herbal medicine. Her store seemed innocent enough; many people started to find niche ways to make money when Niflheim invaded more innocent countries. Some turned to tarot reading, some sewing or crocheting, and some got into the drug and medicine business.

They didn’t have anything to hurry to, so the men decided to give the woman a chance.

“Oh thank you! Now, I have many different types of medicine. I can heal a cough with one sip! Or cure a headache with a sniff! I can also heal the scourge… for the right price.”

Oh, _sure_ she can heal the scourge. The four men looked to each other and decided to leave. “Thank you for your time, miss.” Ignis said as he led the group away from the stand.

“Wait!” The woman shouted as she reached into her pocket. She suddenly reached across the stand and grabbed Noctis’ arm. Before anyone could rip his arm away from her, she pulled out a small knife and sliced his hand. A deep cut started to bleed on the Prince’s palm as Gladio and Ignis pushed the woman against the wall. She looked shocked at the intense reaction.

“What did you just do?” Gladio roared at the woman. Behind him, Prompto was helping Noctis sit against the wall and wrap his palm. The Prince looked out of it; his eyes were glazed over and he was stumbling. Ignis hoped it was just shock.

The woman broke out of her stupor and started to giggle. “It’s a surprise gift! I hope he enjoys it.”

Ignis looked behind him at Noctis and grew worried at how sick his Prince looked. Prompto shook his head at Ignis, unsure how else to help. He turned back towards the woman and narrowed his eyes. “What was on the knife?”

The woman laughed again, pissing off the three currently functioning men, and explained. “It’s said to let the user see the future! I thought he would enjoy it, with how uncertain he looked when you four walked over to my booth.”

“So you drugged him against his will?” Ignis asked, upset at how carefree she was at what she had done.

At this point, the Lestallum security has been alerted to the altercation and arrived at the scene. Ignis spoke to the police while Gladio quickly joined Prompto and Noct’s side. “He alright?”

Prompto looked towards the taller man and shook his head. “I’m not sure. I wrapped his hand but he still won’t look at me. He stopped shaking but I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not”

Gladio grabbed his chin and tried to get the younger man to look him in the eyes, but he wasn’t coherent. “Shit.” He breathed out. Gladio patted his face a few times to get his attention, but nothing worked.

Prompto’s anxiety started to flare again when Noctis’ eyes began to slip shut. “Iggy!”

Ignis turned towards his call. He quickly thanked the police and ran towards them. “What’s wrong?”

“He won’t wake up or answer us.”

Kneeling next to Noctis, Ignis quickly searched the armiger and pulled out an antidote. He broke it over the unconscious man and held his breath. Slowly, Noctis began to open his eyes. “Iggy?” He slurred, before closing his eyes again.

Ignis sighed and Gladio ran his hand across his face. “We can’t give him another antidote for a few hours unless we want him to overdose. All we can do now is bring him to the Leville and watch him.”

Gladio carefully hefted him up bridal style and they walked towards their room. The walk was filled with worried glances at their charge. He didn’t wake but his breathing seemed easier. Maybe the antidote had really helped?

Once they reached their room the men split off. Gladio gently laid him on the bed and tucked him into the covers. Ignis took stock of the curatives in the armiger and began to make dinner for the four of them. Prompto ran to the bathroom to wash his best friend’s dried blood off his hands and arms. 

After a hour had passed they reconvened at Noctis’ bed with warm food. “We’ll take shifts.” Ignis quietly spoke. “We’ll wake him up in a few minutes and try to get some food or water in him.”

After the three finished eating, Gladio and Prompto began to wash the dishes while Ignis tried to wake the young man. He lightly gripped his shoulder and shook. “Noctis, are you with me?”

Noctis’ eyes slowly opened to see his advisor leaning over him with worry. That was weird, he felt fine. “Yeah, Iggy. What’s up? Did I sleep in again too much?” He asked with a smirk.

Ignis’ frown grew deeper. Oh, that’s not what he wanted to see. “What’s wrong?”

Noctis pushed himself up against the headboard and Ignis sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you not remember anything that happened earlier this afternoon?”

Noctis rubbed his head and thought back. “We were in Altissia? There was… Wait, no, we’re in Lestallum. Why…”

Ignis stopped him and put a hand on his arm. “It’s alright, Noct. There was a woman at a herbal stand. We stopped to speak with her, but when we went to leave, she attacked you. She drugged you, but you’ve been given an antidote so you should be on the mend. Some bedrest should help any lasting effects.”

Scenes quickly flashed in Noctis’ mind. _Altissia. Leviathan. Laying in bed. Sylleblossoms. Ignis._

“Noct?” Ignis asked, worried when the younger man started rubbing his head again. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Iggy. Nothing a little bedrest can’t fix, right?”

Ignis cracked a smile, but he could tell he was still being watched for any lingering pain. “Some food and water as well, yes?”

* * *

The night passed fast. The three men still took watch even though Noctis had been coherent only a few hours before. Better safe than sorry, they said.

It happened around 6 am. Gladio was almost done with his watch shift, dozing after finishing the newest romance book in his collection.

Noctis began to roll and shift under the covers, ending up curled on his side. Gladio didn’t pay him much attention since he had been moving all night.

 _‘Hnng’_ Noctis groaned from the bed. Gladio’s eyes flicked over to the boy from over the top of his book. Noctis’ face was scrunched up, like he was in pain.

Gladio quietly stood and walked over to the bed. “Noct.” He said and put his hand on his shoulder.

Noctis snapped awake. He pushed himself up against the headboard of the bed and tensed. If Gladio had looked closer, he would have seen a light blue glow surrounding his body, eerily similar to the armiger.

“Woah, Noct! It’s okay!” Gladio whispered urgently. He didn’t want to wake the others if he didn’t have to. “It’s just me!”

Noctis slowly took a few deep breaths. “We still in Lestallum?” Was the first thing out of his mouth. Gladio thought that was a little strange, but didn’t hesitate in answering. “Yeah, in the Leville. The others are right there.” He gestured with his head.

Noctis nodded and began to slide back under the covers. “Why were you up?” He asked, noticing how early in the morning it was.

“Ah, I’m on my shift right now. We were taking turns in case, you know, anything like _this_ happened.”

Noctis felt guilty but knew better than to say anything. “Thanks, but I’m good now. You can sleep.”

“You sure?” Normally the shield would stay on watch since it was obvious something was wrong, but he wasn’t any good at talking about their emotions and Ignis would be up in a few hours, anyway. 

Noctis nodded his agreement. Gladio sighed and laid down next to him. Within minutes, the shield was asleep.

However, the Prince was not asleep. He could _swear_ he saw a MT outside the window when Gladio was starting to fall asleep. He could see the red dot of a sniper on his chest, but a shot had yet to ring out. _What was it waiting for?_

Noctis slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping shield. The room suddenly seemed pitch black without the comforting presence of his friends. He waddled over to the window and peeked through the blinds.

 _ **There.**_ Someone or something ran around the corner out of sight. Without a second thought Noctis opened the window and warped towards the street. But there was nothing. He ran through the streets for half an hour, and hour, looking for anything suspicious.

Nothing.

Noctis stayed out walking the streets barefoot until the sun came up. Not once did he notice how he shivered from the cold, or how his feet bled, or the lack of a phone. His mind fought throughout the early morning.

_Please go back inside, they’re gonna be worried if we’re not there when they wake up._

_No, we can’t go back yet. We know we saw something. Why don’t we go look by the coffee stand again! It could be reporting to Ardyn **right now.**_

_Something isn’t right here. Noctis, go back to the hotel._

_No! Keep looking!_

And so his mind fought on and on for hours.

* * *

“Nothing?” Ignis asked Gladio through the phone.

“No. Nothing from Prom?”

Ignis sighed. “Not yet.”

“Dammit, I knew something was wrong. I shouldn’t have left him alone” Gladio said, guilt clear in his voice.

Ignis didn’t have a response. Or, at least not one that would be helpful at the moment.

“I’m gonna go to the security and try to talk to that woman. Something isn’t adding up here. Have blondie keep looking.” Gladio said and hung up.

Ignis set down the phone and started to pace through the room. He was staying put in case Noctis came back on his own.

_Where are you, Noct?_

* * *

Gladio slammed his hands on the metal table in front of him. “What did you not tell us?” He demanded. The woman in front of him flinched and refused to look him in the eyes. “Tell me!”

“I told you everything! It’s a herbal drug that let’s the user see the future for a few hours. It should have worn off by now. Has it not?”

Internally, Gladio weighed the pros and cons of telling the woman the truth. She was still locked up, there wasn’t much she could do anyway. Gladio sighed. “We haven’t been able to find him the last few hours. He most likely saw _something_ last night, but that doesn’t explain him up and disappearing.”

“There’s a chance he saw something he didn’t like.”

Gladio grunted as a negative response. “Even then, he would be smart enough to at least take his shoes.”

The woman sat and thought about what could be ailing the missing man. “Sometimes when herbal medicine is mixed with drugs, a negative response happens. Could he have been using?”

Gladio spun around and glared at the woman. How could she even _suggest_ that his ward was using drugs. “There’s nothing else in his system. They don’t mix well with his ma…” He trailed off, suddenly realizing the missing piece. Without another word, he left the interrogation room and called Ignis. He answered on the first ring.

“Tell me.” Ignis was straight to the point, as always.

“It’s his magic. The drugs would have worn off already for anyone else. His magic is fighting the unknown substance just like it does to pain relievers.” Gladio explained while running back to the Leville.

“Okay, so we know what’s causing the ailment. How do we find him?”

“What’s the one thing that always happens when his magic goes haywire and he loses control?”

Ignis stopped and thought. “He always enters Stasis.”

Gladio smiled, finally they were getting there. “Exactly. At some point he’ll find somewhere to rest and stay in one spot.”

Ignis nodded. “I’ll stay here and call Prompto. He may inevitably end up back at the Leville afterall.”

“Got it.”

* * *

1 PM. 

Seven hours after warping out the window. 

Five and a half hours after his retinue noticed he was missing.

The sun had been high in the middle of the sky for a couple hours, making Lestallum almost unbearably hot.

Noctis shakily unlocked the hotel room door and stumbled inside. The room was empty and he let out a sigh, his mind finally calming down for a moment. He laid on the nearest bed and began to doze, his feet bleeding onto the bed sheets.

Ignis stood quietly in the bathroom until he heard light snores come from the younger man. Of course he just happened to come back while Ignis was using the bathroom for less than a minute. Ignis slowly opened the bathroom door and glanced out. Noctis was out like a light, so Ignis quietly maneuvered himself to the chair across the room and texted the other two men. _‘He’s back’_ Hopefully everything would be alright after Noctis rested some more, Ignis thought.

The room door slammed open, Prompto and Gladio pouring through, panting as if they ran the whole way back to the Leville. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

Noctis snapped awake. In a second he was up and in a fighting stance, the armiger spinning around him searching for a threat.

“Oh,” Prompto spoke, “that’s not good.”

Noctis’ eyes immediately trained onto Prompto. “MT.” He hissed. Prompto flinched and had a split second to prepare himself before Noctis warped towards the blonde. Prompto held up his arms in a sad attempt at blocking the warpstrike, but luckily Gladio was more prepared. The shield stood in front of the gunner, greatsword out in the tiny hotel room hallway.

Noctis was not expecting the MTs to defend each other or move that quickly, so he moved to fight the lone MT on the other side of the room instead. He pulled back his sword, preparing to warp again, when the larger MT grabbed his arm. The MT said something in its garbled daemon language, but Noctis paid it no mind. He pulled out a dagger with his other hand and slashed at the MT. The knife sliced the MT in the chest and Noctis moved to attack the lone MT again when he noticed.

The MT was bleeding.

MTs don’t bleed? _Right?_

Gladio’s appearance started to flicker onto the MT, like a broken TV. The stronger of the two voices in his head called out.

_It’s some new technology! That’s not Gladio, don’t fall for it!_

The quieter one spoke as well.

_Stop! It’s Gladio! You were drugged! Don’t do this._

Noctis was debating whether to fight or not when the lone MT pulled something out of ~~thin air~~ a nearby duffle bag. It looked like a potion of some sort, but it could easily be poison as well.

Noctis charged. The MT threw the poison to the other MTs and readied himself. Daggers appeared from nowhere and were gripped in a defense position. Noctis thought that was odd, since MTs usually attack without regard for themselves. Noctis raised his sword and slammed it down at the MT. The MT blocked the clearly choreographed attack and parried, pushing the sword downwards. Noctis’ arms went down from the weight of the sword and he readied to strike again when two large arms wrapped around his torso and arms. The large MT was back already? The MT no longer seemed to be bleeding.

So it _was_ a potion?

The third MT that hadn’t joined the attack came around and grabbed at his hands. Noctis put up minimal fight when the sword was torn from his hands. Noct didn’t bother trying to summon it again, he could tell it was a fight he would lose.

The lone MT grabbed his chin and Noctis pulled away with a grimace. The MT then grabbed his whole jaw, and Noctis had a suspicion it was looking him in the eyes, despite the grey mask it was wearing.

The MT pulled a potion from the ~~armiger~~ duffle bag and cracked it over his feet. The relief from the pain he hadn’t even realized was there was so palpable, Noctis slowly started to drift away.

The three Crownsguard watched their charge slowly fall asleep in his shield’s arms.

Prompto looked between the three of them. “Now what?”

* * *

In the past, the only way to help Noctis or Regis when their magic rejected medicine or itself was giving them time. Noctis used to get horribly sick with body aches and vomiting when his magic went haywire, but he never hallucinated or ran off.

His father, however, did. Being connected and in control of the Crystal made his magic more volatile. He would hallucinate his family dead, or Lucis invaded, or Noctis attacking him and his retinue. The hallucinations were a mix between the future and old timelines long passed. Regis could never tell which were from precognitions and which were unimportant.

In the present, the three men never put the two together since it never happened to their ward. However, with Regis dead and Noctis being the last surviving Lucis Caelum, the Crystal must have latched itself onto Noctis, bringing all the wonderful side effects with it.

Noctis slept the rest of the day away fitfully. He turned and cried and asked for people long dead. He begged for his dad and cried Luna’s name, and at one point, cried for Ignis as well. Ignis tried his best to wake the sick Prince when he called for him, but when his eyes opened it was clear he wasn’t seeing the present. Silent tears ran down his face while he rubbed his thumbs over Ignis’ cheekbones and eyes. After a minute his eyes rolled back and he was out once again.

A little over 24 hours after the whole thing started, Noctis woke.

Prompto was the first one at his side, cheerful optimism making him forget to be on guard just in case. He smiled with worry in his eyes. “Hey, buddy. You back with us?”

Noctis clumsily rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. Ignis and Gladio were sitting in the chairs in front of the bed, giving him space in case he was overwhelmed.

With Prompto’s help, Noctis sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed at his neck. “Why does my back hurt?” He asked in a rough voice, slightly raw from the fitful rest. “And why does my throat hurt?”

Ignis grabbed a water bottle from the nightstand and passed it Noctis. The Prince took it without hesitation and drank, oblivious to the stress his retinue was feeling. The three men’s shoulders relaxed in relief.

Ignis explained to Noctis the details of the previous day, from the woman slicing his hand to his impromptu run through Lestallum. Noctis couldn’t help the guilt that covered his face when Ignis described their fight in the Leville. Noctis kept stealing glances at Gladio’s chest where he had cut him. Gladio noticed immediately and put an end to it. “Stop, Noct. It’s not your fault.”

Noctis looked like he wanted to argue but didn’t have the energy for it. Instead, he mumbled a defeated, “But it’s my fault you got hurt.”

“You didn’t know it was us! That’s not your fault.” Prompto interjected.

“He’s right, your Highness. No permanent damage has been done, and now we will be adequately prepared for the next time this happens.”

“Next time?!” Noctis exclaimed.

Ignis wasn’t sure how to broach this subject. “Your Highness…” No, he couldn’t be formal for this. “Noct. You know as well as I do what the Crystal did to your father.” Noctis flinched. Shit, that’s not what he meant to say. He rushed to correct himself. “When your magic went haywire, the two of you had very different reactions. You were exhibiting the same symptoms he used to have.”

Noctis wrapped his arms around himself, making his appearance that much smaller. “So, the Crystal is killing me now too? Even without the ring?” He asked in a small voice.

Ignis’ heart felt crushed. “I don’t know, Noct, but we’ll be here every step of the way.” Prompto gripped his best friend’s hand and Gladio straightened in determination.

“We’ve got you, Noct.”

And Noctis broke down. Prompto was quick to wrap his arms around his friend, shielding him from the world and comforting him. Ignis sat next to him and rubbed his back in a soothing manner. Gladio stood in front of them and put a hand on Noct’s shoulder.

They would be there for him for as long as he would have them.

**Author's Note:**

> I titled this Luminous Precognition purely because 'Luminous' reminds me of Noctis lmao.  
> I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Come chat with me!  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/_NOCTlS)  
> [Tumblr](https://desmondmlles.tumblr.com)


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